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Former director general (DG) of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen (r) Faiz Hamid has formally been charged with engaging in political activities and misusing his authority as the chief of the country’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, the former spymaster was also charged for violating the Official Secrets Act, misusing authority and government resources, and causing wrongful losses to individuals.

“These actions have compromised state security and interests,” ISPR added.

According to the statement, the process of Hamid’s field general court-martial (FGCM) was initiated on August 12, under provisions of the Pakistan Army Act.

Additionally, the military’s media wing said, the former spymaster’s role in creating agitation and unrest, including the May 9 riots, “in collusion with vested political interests”, was also being investigated.

“Lt Gen (r) Faiz Hamid is being afforded with all legal rights as per the law,” it added.

The development comes four months after reports said and the ISPR confirmed that the ex-ISI chief was taken into custody by the military on charges of abuse of power and violating the Army Act.

The former spy chief was in August arrested in connection with a Supreme Court petition filed by a housing society’s chief executive officer, who accused Hamid of land grabbing and stealing valuables during a raid.

The Pakistan Army, following orders of the apex court, had conducted a detailed inquiry to investigate the complaints.

Gen (r) Faiz Hamid appointment and retirement 

Gen Hameed hailed from the army’s Baloch Regiment. He was appointed as the ISI director general in June 2019, replacing incumbent Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, who was then a lieutenant general.

Gen Hameed had opted to seek early retirement and sent his resignation to the high command in November 2022, according to unnamed sources. He was made the ISI chief in June 2019.

The army had announced on October 6, 2021, that Gen Hameed was appointed the Peshawar corps commander, while Lt Gen Anjum was appointed in his place. But the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had not issued an official notification of Lt Gen Anjum’s appointment until three weeks later, leading to frenzied speculation of strains in civil-military relations.

After delays, the PMO had eventually notified the appointment of Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum as the new ISI chief on Oct 26, 2021. Imran had later said he never wanted to “bring his own army chief” and that he “never meddled” in Pakistan Army’s affairs.

Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, while addressing a conference on Seminary Reforms and Registration in Islamabad on Monday, indirectly warned the government of mass mobilisation if the existing system of religious school registration was not maintained.

Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said, “This statement may sound harsh. We have enough madrassas in Islamabad which can easily mobilise twenty-five to thirty thousand people: and if Maulana Tayyab Tahiri were informed, then five to six lac supporters will arrive.

“Someone else may have manpower in the realm of politics, but in the field of madrassas, we have manpower numbering in the hundreds of thousands,” he warned.

Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi remarked, “Separate platforms exist for politics; we will not allow playing with the future of hundreds of thousands of students of seminaries.”

Ashrafi passed the comments after Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded revisions in the seminary registration process.

Ashrafi criticised JUI-F’s demand, highlighting a 2019 agreement that settled the registration issue, warning against repetitive demands for new laws.

“You accepted the agreement in 2019 and are now demanding a new law; you will demand another law after four years,” Tahir Ashrafi lamented.

It should be mentioned here that Ashrafi is of the view that madrassas are educational institutions and should, therefore, be registered under the Ministry of Education. However, Maulana Fazlur Rehman maintained that madrassas should be registered under the Ministry of Industries, and the government should revive the 2019 madrassas registration process.

Societies Registration Amendment Act 2024 was passed along with the 26th Constitutional Amendment, according to which it was decided that the madrassas registration would brought under the Societies Act 1860.

However, following the approval from the parliament, President Asif Ali Zardari objected to the bill (Societies Registration Amendment Act 2024) and sent it back to the parliament.

On Monday conference along with Ashrafi, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, while commenting on the Madrassa Bill, stated that it could not become law due to some legal complications, adding, “the suggestions given by the scholars had been noted, and the final solution would be found after thorough consultations.”

“Registration of 18,000 Madrasahs is the result of the efforts of the Department of Religious Education”, he added.

Meanwhile, reacting to the conference on seminary reforms and registration, Maulana Fazlur Rehman in a press conference at Charsadda on Monday said that his party doesn’t want confrontation with the state, but registration of seminaries. “They wanted to give us a new system in 2019, but it was just an agreement,” he said.

“All relevant stakeholders, including the agencies, agreed on the bill, which the National Assembly and the Senate later passed,” he said, asking why President Asif Zardari returned the amendment bill?

He also accused the authorities of pushing the seminaries towards extremism, alleging that they want to control the religious seminaries on orders of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States and the West.